THE CLOSING CHRONICLES

Nightingale's 'The Closing Chronicles' is an album where you get two Swano's for the price of one! That's right, in this album the now legendary Dan Swano teamed up with his brother, Dag Swano, to explore their love for gothic-tinged progressive rock in this rather obscure record from the mid-90s. This was the first Nightingale album I had the privilege of hearing, and to this day has remained my favourite release from the band. Fans of the 1996 epic Edge Of Sanity album 'Crimson' will notice that this album was released in the same year. Dan Swano isn't just a highly talented musician or composer - he is also extremely prolific!

The music here is a blend of melancholic gothic rock, progressive rock and some small metallic influences. But I wouldn't really describe 'The Closing Chronicles' as a metal album. Later Nightingale albums definitely fit more comfortably into the progressive-metal camp easier than this one. The style in 'The Closing Chronicles' is based in the prog-rock genre, but there are a few heavier moments that are present on this disc.

The vocals from Dan Swano are all entirely clean, unlike Edge Of Sanity, and are what make this particular album such a fine one. Dan Swano has a really beautiful and powerful baritone voice which fits the music on this record really well. His voice adds texture and emotion to the already emotive and somewhat depressing music!

There's a lot to enjoy on this album, and I think its definitely one of those obscure and overlooked gems that I think a lot of people would get a kick out of. Highlight tracks for me are the opener, 'Deep Inside of Nowhere, the third track 'Thoughts From a Stolen Soul' and the album closer, 'Alive Again'. Incidentally these three stand-out songs are all the longest on the album...its a pure coincidence I swear! Anyway I love this album and most projects Dan Swano turns his hand to are pure gold so I'll give this once a very solid 4-stars.